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So it’s been a full 6 months since you arrived on the scene, and your mom and I have learned at least one valuable lesson in that time. The lesson is that there is no reason to worry or panic about your moods, patterns, or delayed milestones because raising you sure is a lot of trial-and-error and guesswork. Things change rapidly and we are not in a position to try and control them. Your mood can change in an instant; and, although you are still generally quite even-tempered, you have your moments of unabashed drama. The transition from bath time to the final evening bottle is one example. You’ll be the picture of sainthood while in the bath tub and getting dried off, but the task of putting pajamas on turns into a jujitsu-style ninja fight as you swing your arms and legs wildly and howl. But just as you can swiftly turn from a little cherub to an angry crankerpants, you can also then wind down quickly to become an easy-going and precocious charmer. Once the pajamas are on and the bottle is in your mouth, you lay calmly, drinking and resting until you fall into peaceful sleep.

As for patterns, while things are a bit more structured these days, it’s still hard to get you locked in to a formal routine. You eat in the morning, several times at daycare, and then again at night before you go to bed. But who knows why it takes 10-minutes sometimes and 40-minutes other times… it’s the same 6 oz bottle for goodness sakes. Similarly, our every other night bath routine has been altered, as we now have to contend with the messy meal times and greasy, overheated, sun block lathered skin. And if waking up every morning between 4:00 to 6:00 AM is a pattern, then that’s one that we’d be happy to do without. We are still not sure if you are being awoken by hunger, the early rising sun, the giant dump in your diaper that is leaking up your back, or something altogether different and more sinister. All in all, we’ve gotten some tasks figured out and routines have been established; but, you are definitely your own little person with a distinct personality, and you will do certain things seemingly on your own terms.
Your mom is always worried that you are behind in your developmental milestones. “Why isn’t he rolling over more” has been one of the more common refrains. But your rolling over quite a bit these days, from belly to back and from back to belly. We’ve stumbled into your room to find you’ve rotated and flipped yourself over, with a foot or arm dangling between the rails, reaching for who knows what. And while the rolling over was slow-to-come, you’ve been sitting up for about a month now and are adding toy throws and Tali tail pulling to your sitting repertoire to increase the degree of difficulty and excitement. Even a few face plants haven’t thwarted those efforts. There was also a lot of discussion and delay in getting you on to solid foods. We hemmed and hawed for a few weeks on this, but now we are in the groove, and you have sampled some delicious avocado, home-made sweet potatoes, and some not-so-yummy packaged green beans. You are becoming a champion eater , wearing only 50% of the food on your face, between your fingers, and somehow behind your ears and in your long, flowing mullet.

Another lesson learned this month is that we need to keep all of your tiny little socks away from Tali. And by “away,” I mean they can’t be downstairs on a table or anywhere his scheming Sheltie paws or snout can reach them. Tali will sniff them out and gobble them up. I spent an evening at the vet’s office and the better part of a week and a half checking Tali for signs of sickly behavior while obsessively monitoring his poops for any sign of sock shrapnel. You’ll be happy to know that a collection of socks (some we didn’t even know were missing) have been “found.” It will definitely be a bare foot summer around these parts for you.

This month hasn’t been all about lessons learned, though, as we’ve had a little bit of fun. With the nicer weather, you and I have taken several long walks at the park with Tali. You seem to enjoy the breeze in your face and are quite content to take in the scenery. We also had a good time at Phelan Fest 2011, where you got to meet your great grandma Phelan for the first time and got to hang out with other family members and friends. Another joy this month has been watching you play in your Rainforest Jumperoo . I can’t tell if you are excited or scared of the bouncing but your leg movements resemble those of Michael Flatley from Lord of the Dance (check out the 55 second mark for some spectacularly spastic toe-tapping). You’ve gotten so rambunctious and have so much fun in your jumperoo and exersaucer that it’s gotten easier for your mom and me to eat dinner. We do appreciate the opportunity to use both of our hands (and utensils!) when we eat.

Before we move ahead to celebrating the next six months of your life, I’ve got to say a hearty “thank you,” to your mom for doing such a wonderful job of transitioning us to our new world with you in it. She has been on the front lines of most of the feedings, doctor’s appointments, daycare drop-offs, spit-up sessions, and dirty diapers. Without her, I imagine that our home life would resemble something out of Lord of the Flies, with you, me and Tali battling for household supremacy. I’m not sure who would win, but it wouldn’t be pretty. So always remember to be nice to your mom and thank her for all that she does for you.